Fonterra is free to expand its milk processing plant at Studholme after no appeals were lodged against the plan.
The dairy giant was granted consent for the expansion in mid-June, after a three-week hearing in Waimate.
Canterbury Regional Council and Waimate District Council granted Fonterra eight consents that would allow it to do earthworks, to disturb, occupy, and discharge contaminants to the coastal marine area and discharge domestic wastewater to land from staff and visitor facilities.
Submitters to the process had from June 18 to July 15 to appeal the decision.
Spokeswoman for submitter, Coal Action Network Aotearoa (Cana), Jeanette Fitzsimons, said it chose not to appeal because the organisation felt it already achieved several aims through the submission process.
"We achieved our goal of raising public awareness of Fonterra's massive coal use, as well as the unsustainability of its endless growth strategy.
"We pointed out that to feed the plant it would take an extra half a million dairy cows in the area, and Fonterra halved its plans as a result of the opposition we helped generate.
"We don't think they'll ever even build this plant.''
Ms Fitzsimons also said the appeal process was expensive.
Another submitter, Wise Response Society, did not appeal the decision due to the limiting rules of the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Spokesman Dugald MacTavish said it was a high-risk process.
"We can't talk about what we want to talk about due to the rules. They're bizarre.''
He said the appeal process under the RMA did not allow the group the ability to put forward arguments about carbon emissions from the plant or the cows that the plant would require to exist so the sting of their argument could not be fully realised.
"The Resource Management Act was good but it's been buggered around so many times it makes it ... there's deliberate limits.
"Granting a consent under these circumstances is pure folly.
"Still, if we want a future, sooner or later we are going to have to stop fooling ourselves that business as usual is an option and plan accordingly.''
A Fonterra spokesman said the company would not appeal any of the conditions.
"This is one of a number of consents Fonterra holds around the country that allow us to be more responsive to growth in regional milk volumes.
"In this case, should South Canterbury milk volumes grow in the years ahead, we will be well placed to respond quickly with investment in manufacturing capacity.''
